Jose Maria Figueres

Jose Maria Figueres (24 December 1954-) was President of Costa Rica from 8 May 1994 to 8 May 1998, succeeding Rafael Angel Calderon Fournier and preceding Miguel Angel Rodriguez. He was a member of the National Liberation Party of Costa Rica and the son of Jose Figueres Ferrer.

Biography
Jose Maria Figueres was born in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1954, the son of Jose Figueres Ferrer. He studied at the US military academy of West Point and at Harvard before becoming manager of the national agricultural association back in Costa Rica. From 1988 to 1990, he served as Agricultural Minister under Oscar Arias. He was a member of the social democratic National Liberation Party of Costa Rica, and he was elected on the promise of greater social justice. While in office, he maintained his predecessors' stingent economic policies to cope with the country's debt burden. He left office in 1998, and he went on to work as a businessman and economist.